


climbing the ladder

by soapyconnor



Category: Cuphead (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, High School AU, Human AU, M/M, they get drunk, they're teachers lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 17:00:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12586512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soapyconnor/pseuds/soapyconnor
Summary: king dice needs some help chaperoning the prom. cuphead is more then happy to help.





	climbing the ladder

**Author's Note:**

> hi!!!!!!! this is unbeta'd so sorry if there's any mistakes
> 
> SO i feel like i need to explain of this!!!!!! they're all humans and they're teachers. i need to explain something abt the names. cuphead and mugman are surnames, and king dice's surname is dice, but he got the nickname king dice from the students. same with the devil. so, that's why they're still cuphead and mugman, etc etc. 
> 
> follow me on tumblr: @heggsys

            Cuphead liked his job. Or at least, that’s what he told himself.

            “Stop running!” he shouted at a bunch of freshmen as they barreled past him. His job wouldn’t be so bad if he was taller than five three. Most of the kids towered over him, and Cuphead was easily pushed around. He hoped he would never have to break up a fist fight, because he would get his own ass kicked in the process. Mugman hadn’t been so lucky, and on his first day, had to break up a fight. In an English class no less.

            The kids grumbled, but they slowed. He was glad he had their respect, otherwise his job would be a hell of a lot harder than before.

            Stomach growling, he headed towards the teacher’s lounge. He pushed the door opened and stepped in, quickly heading towards the fridge. He pulled out his Tupperware container, and opened the lid a bit before he put it in the microwave.

            He glanced at the other teachers. Beppi, Cala Maria, Sally Stageplay, Wally Warbles, and Hilda Berge were the only ones in so far. He didn’t really _mind_ any of them, but a few of them got on his nerves. It seemed that most of them were just going to pay attention to themselves, and he was okay with that.

            The microwaved ‘dinged!’ and Cuphead eagerly opened the door, before he pulled out his food. Licking his lips, he sat down at a table in the corner and dug in. He ate with fervor, and he could feel his hair slipping him the ponytail he had on the top of his head.

            Momentarily, with his cheeks full of food, he stopped and took his bright, fire engine red hair out of the ponytail. Quickly and efficiently, he put his hair up in a bun, before he readied himself to go back to eating.

            He stopped when the door swung open, and the vice principal stepped in. Everyone froze, and turn their head towards him.

            His skin was dark like Calla Lilies, and his eyes were the softest shade of green Cuphead had ever seen. He had a mustache, which suited him greatly. The sides of his heads were shaved, but the top was . . . heck, Cuphead didn’t even know how to describe it. The man was simply gorgeous, and Cuphead would have made moves on him already, if it wasn’t for the fact he was his boss.

            “Cuphead,” King Dice, dragging him out of his thoughts. “You’re supposed to be on lunch duty.”

            There was a moment of silence, before the words finally processed. “Oh.”

            Another moment of silence, before he came to his senses. “Gosh! Sorry! I-I forgot. Sorry,” he apologized, standing up, and bringing his container with him. He heard Beppi snicker, and he glared at him. Beppi was the Speech and English teacher, and he was _such_ a jackass. He made fun of Cuphead for his good nature and ‘innocent’ way of speaking, but if Beppi could look inside his fuckin’ head, he’d realize quickly that that wasn’t the case.

            King Dice rolled his eyes, causing Cuphead to wince. But Cuphead made his way towards the vice principal anyways, and was about to walk out of the teacher’s lounge when he heard him speak again.

            “. . . We need chaperones for the prom as well. Any volunteers?”

            “Who’d we be working with?” Cala Maria asked, her legs kicked up on the table, her purple and blue hair tied in a braid. “If I gotta work with Sally, count me out.”

            Sally glared at Cala Maria, but the other just smiled in return. It was playful.

            “Sadly, Sally didn’t volunteer. If you decide too, you’ll be working with me,” King Dice said, grinning a bit.

            Cuphead’s heart lurched. _I’ll get to work with him?_ He thought, his heart racing. Swallowing harshly, he forced out, “I’ll do it!” before anyone else could speak. King Dice turned his green gaze on him, and raised an eyebrow. Clearing his throat briefly, he said, “I’ll do it, King Dice. Don’t need to worry about it. I’ve got you covered.”

            King Dice just nodded briefly. “All right. I’ll let The Devil know. I’ll email you the information.”

            Cuphead’s palms were sweating. “Okay.”

 

 

            “You did _what now?_ ” Mugman yelped, before his hand covered his mouth.

            They were sitting in the cafeteria together at the very front, watching and making sure nothing got too crazy. Across the cafeteria sat another pair of teachers, and The Devil and King Dice stood in one corner talking as well.

            “Shut up, will you?” Cuphead whispered back, glaring at him. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

            “Yes, it is!” Mugman exclaimed, but his voice was significantly lower than before. “Don’t act like this is nothing. You’re going to be working with _King Dice._ You know, the person you’ve had a crush on for so long? You’ve finally gotten your chance.” He shoved Cuphead playfully, and had a large grin on his face, before he ran a hand through his short blue hair.

            Cuphead couldn’t help but grin every time he saw Mugman’s blue hair. While his hair was originally a light orange color—not even close to how bright Cuphead’s was—he had dyed it after getting completely smashed one night. He originally wasn’t going to keep it, but The Devil had immediately complimented on it as soon as they got into work, and it became Mugman’s gimmick now.

            The students seemed to enjoy his blue hair, only since it was the only way to tell Cuphead and Mugman apart. Well, except for the fact that Mugman had a _much_ bigger nose . . .

            “Look. I _know_ what this could possibly be, but we’ll be _working_ . . . or _maybe_ we’ll be working. I don’t know if this is volunteering or if we’re getting paid, but . . . hmrph. King Dice is our boss. I can’t date him.”

            “I’m dating The Devil and there’s been no issue with that.”

            “Yeah, but we’re _brothers_ , and if I was dating the vice principal, the other employees may think we’re just doing it for special treatment.”

            Mugman scoffed, picking up his container and resting back in his chair with it. “Cuphead. This is King Dice and The Devil we’re talking about. They’re notorious for being a tough duo. They’re not going to give us special treatment. Heck, you remember that time that he yelled at me in front of those parents at the parent-teacher conference. He’s never going to give me special treatment. I don’t think Dice would give you any, either,” Mugman said softly, before scooping some of his food onto his spoon. “You’re just using that as an excuse,” Mugman said with a wink.

            “Even if I was—which I’m not—I wouldn’t be able to _do_ anything anyways. I mean, yeah, that’s probably real attractive, hitting on the vice principal while we’re at prom. Real romantic, Mugman.”

            Mugman shrugged his shoulders. “Anything can be romantic if you try hard enough.”

            Cuphead just glared at him.

 

 

            Cuphead nervously walked into the gymnasium, his hands hiding in the long sleeves of his sweater. He looked around for King Dice, and failed to see him in the swarm of teenagers. He spotted some of the other teachers, who were either chatting with each other, or trying to break up students who were getting into a verbal disagreement.

            Cuphead swallowed harshly. He was a little late, and he didn’t know what he was going to say once he found King Dice. Was he going to apologize? Was he going to lie? Was he just not going to say anything? What the _fuck . . ._

            “You’re late,” a voice said from behind him, causing Cuphead to jump and whirl around to face King Dice. Cuphead looked up at him, and had to take a step back to look into his eyes.

            “I know,” Cuphead said, surprised his voice didn’t waver. “I’m sorry. I got caught up in traffic.” _Well,_ he thought to himself, _at least that wasn’t a total lie._ “I’m here now.”  
            “Yes. You are. Come along,” King Dice murmured, before he walked through the crowd. Cuphead ran after him, struggling to keep up with his long legs. He found King Dice standing by one of the exits, and he pushed the door open. “Go on.”

            Confused, he walked into the dark hallway. He watched King Dice as he stepped in, and he followed him around the corner. “What are we doing here?” he asked quietly. “Shouldn’t we be inside watching the kids?”

            King Dice shook his head. “This is where the kids come to drink, and smoke, and everything else in the damn world. We’re here to confiscate that stuff.”

            Cuphead frowned. “But once we catch one kid, aren’t they going to movie where they go and do it?”

            “No. The other hallways have events going on in them. There’ll be teachers there. This hallway is their only option,” King Dice replied, leaning against the opposing wall.

In the dark light, Cuphead could barely make out his outfit. King Dice was wearing a white button up shirt, and dark purple trousers, along with black dress shoes, and a bowtie. Cuphead frowned a bit, trying to make out more of his outfit. King Dice was wearing suspenders as well.

            “It’s odd seeing you in something that isn’t gym clothes.”

            Cuphead’s head snapped up, and he looked towards King Dice with wide eyes. He uneasily slid down the wall, and sat down, pulling at his sleeves. “Ha, yeah, I guess so . . .?” he looked down at himself. He wore a white button up underneath a red sweater, and gray pants, along with black dress shoes. To him, this looked normal. _But,_ he thought, _he’s never seen me outside of work_. “Thank you?”

            There was a small moment of silence. “Oh, I’m sorry, that was meant to be a compliment. You look very nice.”

            “Oh . . . well . . . thank you. I wasn’t quite sure if you meant it like one, but thanks.” Cuphead picked at some of the loose strings on his sweater. Without thinking, he said, “I guess this’d be normal to you if you came with The Devil, Mugman, and I when we go out.”

            That sentence didn’t really make much sense, now that Cuphead heard it out loud, but it was too late to take it back. He just forced himself to sit there and wait for a response.

            King Dice was silent for a while, before he said, “Sorry. I know I should go out with you three more often, but I’m busy all the time . . .”

            “It’s understandable. Besides, I wouldn’t want to be around The Devil and Mugman on their dates, either. They’re insufferable.”

            “He’s insufferable at work, too,” King Dice replied, “You just don’t see it because you’re in the gym all the time. I have to work with him, so I know what he’s like all day. It takes everything in him to not call down to Mugman’s room constantly.”

            “I bet. You know, I had expected Mugman to be the one to be like that, not The Devil.”

            King Dice tsked. “You thought that because you didn’t know him. I’ve known him for years. He’s very clingy.” They sat in silence, since Cuphead didn’t know what else to add onto that.

            Cuphead scrambled to his feet as the door opened, and two giggling teens stumbled in, holding a box of booze between themselves. The teens stopped and stared wide eyed at Cuphead, and King Dice, before they dropped the box. They didn’t even attempt to run. “You know what you’re going to do,” King Dice said, staring at the teens with a hard expression. The teens nodded, heads bowed, and ashamed at getting caught. They kicked the box over to King Dice, and took themselves to the office.

            Cuphead stared, surprised. “You trust them to go to the office?”

            “Yes. I know who they are anyways, so even if they didn’t go to the office, they know they will still get in trouble no matter what. They’re lucky I don’t call their parents.”

            Weakly, Cuphead nodded. “O-okay . . .” he looked towards the box. “What are we going to do with the alcohol?”

            King Dice gently toed the box over to a corner. “I don’t know. Usually The Devil works this corner of the room, but since he’s started dating your brother . . .” he said, and then sighed heavily. “Perhaps I’ll just put it in the office once this is all over with and call it good.”

            Cuphead went quiet and nodded. Nervously, he chewed on his nails, and he sat down against the wall. A couple of minutes passed without another group of students coming in, before Cuphead awkwardly said, “We could drink it.”

            King Dice gave him a look. “Drink it? I doubt that’ll make us look good in the parent’s eyes if they find out. Not to mention that if more students come in . . .” he murmured, looking to the door.

            “King. I know you want to do your job. So do I. But you know as well as I do with how small of a school this is, there aren’t going to be many students coming through here . . . Those two students may have been the only one to do this,” Cuphead said, trying to reason with him. “Besides, there’s all those teachers out there as well . . .”

            King Dice stared at Cuphead, then reluctantly sighed. “All right,” he said, picking up the box of alcohol. “Prom is always so boring to chaperone anyways. Grab my keys out of my pocket, we’ll go into the locker room.”

            Cuphead scrunched up his nose, but hopped to his feet anyways, and pulled the key out of Dice’s pocket, before he followed him into the adjoining hallway to the locker room. Cuphead unlocked the locker room and held the door open for Dice, before he closed it and relocked it.

            He turned and watched King Dice put the box down on a bleacher, before he opened it and took a bottle out. King Dice gave a small laugh. “Huh, well at least those two idiots got the good stuff,” he said, before handing the bottle to Cuphead.

            Cuphead placed the sleeve of his sweater over his palm, and placed his hand over the top before he unscrewed it. King did the same, and together they sat down next to each other on the floor, their backs leaning against lockers. The tapped the bottles together, and King Dice said, “To a shitty work day,” before they both took a large mouthful.

            Cuphead swallowed heavily, and his head began to spin as he felt the alcohol begin to work its way through his system. “Yeah,” he murmured, blinking. “To that.”

 

 

            Cuphead sniffed loudly, his head resting on King Dice’s shoulder. His unfocused eyes stared at the nearly empty box in front of them, and he reached his leg up to kick it off of the bleacher. It crashed to the ground, but none of the alcohol spilled from it.

            “What the fuck was that for?” King Dice murmured, his cheek resting against the top of Cuphead’s head. They heard a round of loud, hearty laughter coming from the gymnasium. “The hypnotist,” he added, as if Cuphead didn’t already know that.

            “I dunno. Wanted to do it. Thought maybe it’d . . . it’d break,” he said, his sentence interrupted by a string of hiccups. “Hypnotist? Maybe we should go watch him. Maybe he can make us believe we’re not royally fuckin’ smashed.”

            “Dunno. Don’t want to get up. You’re a pretty comfortable post to lean on.”

            “Right back at you,” Cuphead said with a yawn, his eyes half-lidded. “I really like you,” he added, eyes closing. “Like . . . _really_ like you. Despite the fact you’re always a dick at work.”

            “Gotta be a dick. Kids never respect you if you let them off the hook . . . of course, sometimes you gotta _not_ be a dick . . . ‘m good at that sometimes . . .” King Dice threw an arm around his shoulders. “I like you too. Lot more then I like most people. Your brother ‘nd the Devil are ‘bout the only people I can tolerate.”

            “Really? Thought you hated me. Would always ignore me . . . huh. Fucker.”

            King Dice let out a snort. “Didn’ ignore you on purpose, dummy. Didn’ know how to act ‘round you. ‘Specially since you and your brother are so different . . . Mugman’s timid lil shit. You almost fought me on the first day of school.”

            “Yeah, well, if you wouldn’t be so God damn tall . . .”

            “I think the real issue is that you’re so God damn short . . .”

            “ _Fuck_ you.”

            “You wish.”

            “I really do . . .” Cuphead drew off with a yawn, struggling forward onto his knees so he could crawl over to the box and grab another bottle. “You want one?”

            “Yeah . . .” King Dice murmured, and as soon as Cuphead returned, he laid his head on top of his. “Did you mean that?”

            “What?”

            “That you want to fuck me.”

            Uneasily, Cuphead opened the bottle and took a swig. “Yeah. I’d like to do much more than that with you too.”

            “Like what?”

            “Get married. Have a family. Be one of those families with a white picket fence. Generic shit, you know?”

            There was silence. If Cuphead had been sober, he would have wondered if he had fucked it up. Evidently, he didn’t, because King Dice continued with, “I would like that too. Not just in general, but with you.”

            “Really? Thought you hated me.”

            King Dice took a hearty swig. “Never hated you. Just too nervous to be around you. Not so much a smooth talker as I seem. Damn, just look at us now. I’m spilling this to all of you while drunk.”

            Cuphead laughed, clutching the front of King Dice’s shirt. “God, I’m the same way. We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?” he asked, lifting his head. “Or, uh, we’ll _be_ quite the pair. If we, you know, once we’re, you know . . .” He pressed his forehead against Dice’s shoulder, shoving his forehead hard against the bone.

            King Dice laughed. “Look. I think we should go on a couple of dates first before we decide any titles.”

            “Hm? Yeah. Okay. That makes sense. We’re not a couple of high schoolers anymore.”

            “No, we’re really not. We’re supposed to be in charge of them, if you can believe that . . .”

            “Hm . . .” Cuphead hummed, his eyes closing. “I know you said we should go on some dates, but I really want to fuckin’ kiss you.”

            It didn’t take long for King Dice to respond. “I mean . . . I’m not opposed to a kiss.”

            Cuphead looked up towards Dice. “Really?” when he saw him nod, he sat up abruptly. “O-okay. So . . . are you going to make the first move or—?”

            He was interrupted by King, who leaned forward and pressed a light, gentle kiss against his lips. Cuphead’s eyes fluttered shut, and he leaned heavily into the kiss. Their foreheads rested together when King pulled away gently. “You really just need to shut up sometimes.”

            “Maybe you just need to do that to me more often to get me to be quiet?”

            “Perhaps I will.”

            Cuphead smiled drunkenly at King Dice, who smiled back, their foreheads resting together. They ignored the loud laughter coming from the gym. They only had eyes for each other.


End file.
